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Nagano Offensive
Background After the Battle of Myokokogen, the JSDF Joetsu-Myoko offensive was halted, and the lines between the JSDF and The Shogunate once fell into stalemate, a state of affairs on the northern sector of the Eastern Front of the Honshu War that would continue for four years. During this period, both sides launched frequent artillery attacks and cross-border raids on each other, however, the JSDF, exploiting their air and naval supremacy, quickly gained an edge in the war of attrition, using quickly destroying the few surviving Shogunate aircraft in the sector and using their air forces to launch targeted attacks on Shogunate artillery and defensive positions, as well as use aerial reconnaissance and spotting to aim their artillery. While the front was outside the range of direct naval support, the destruction of what remained at the Shogunate northern fleet at the Naval Battle off Itoigawa allowed for unchallenged naval bombardments of Shogunate-held Toyama to the east. This weakened the defenders by cutting off the fishing fleet that provided much of the food to Shogunate troops in the north, as well as diverting some of the artillery guns on the front for use as improvised coastal pieces in an attempt to provide some defense against the increasing naval raids on Toyama. In 2258, the largely quiet northern front saw a drastic decline in Shogunate troop numbers when thousands of men were levied by the Shogun in a failed attempt to halt the the JSDF assault on Kofu in 2258. Still more Shogunate troops and, perhaps even more crucially for a post-war society that could not produce many of the more advanced pre-war weapons, materiel, were diverted to stem the tides of the Communist Party of Japan's offensives on the western fronts and the JSDF and CPJ's naval and air attacks on Kyoto and Nagoya- by 2258, all of the dwindling number of operational Shogunate aircraft were stationed in either Nagoya or Kyoto. In the summer of 2260, after stubborn Shogunate resistance prevented further gains north of Kofu, the primary focus of JSDF high command once again focused on the northern sector, with the primary target being Myokokogen with the intent of breaking through the weakened lines and attacking the city of Nagano. Second Battle of Myokokogen The first and by the largest attack of the offensive, with 35 pre-war tanks, 50 Type-31 Auxiliary Tanks (tractor tanks built using mass-produced kits), and 50 other armored vehicles (including pre-war APCs and postwar conversions), as well as over 10,000 combat personnel was launched the the Shogunate defenses at the Otagiri, Kofutamata, and Shirotagiri River valleys north of Myokokogen at 800 hours on June 22nd, 2260. While JSDF forces were slowed by infantry combat in the gorges and the placement of crude temporary bridges (in some cases, literally constructed using bundles of rubble and felled tree trunks placed in the relatively narrow, shallow channels to allow tanks and vehicles to ford) to replace to those destroyed by the Shogunate, by 1200 hours, the remains of the pre-war ski resort of Akakura were captured, and JSDF mountain infantry were fighting on the slopes of Mount Myoko and the surrounding peaks. At 1348 hours, the first temporary bridge was placed over the Shirotagiri River, and JSDF tanks and infantry advanced towards the city of Myokokogen. As they reached the edge of the city, Shogunate resistance became heavier, with JSDF tanks being reduced to advancing slowly and providing fire support in the dense forested mountains and the remains of the pre-war structures of the city. At 1635 hours, JSDF forces supported by aircraft attacking Shogunate artillery batteries in the mountains to the southwest were able to capture the remains of the pre-war Myokokogen station. By the end of the day, JSDF forces had pushed to the point where the Seki River turns sharply to the north after flowing west down the mountains. At this point, the JSDF forces ran into a second Shogunate defensive lines on the Seki River, which was supported by artillery on the slopes of Mount Kurohime and Mount Iizuna to the southwest. This defensive line would hold for the duration of the 23rd, only to be breached on June 24th, after JSDF special forces silenced the batteries of Mt. Kurohime in a night attack. In spite of the breaking of the Seki River line, some Shogunate resistance would remain in the mountains until they were finally rooted out on June 28th. The Torigawa-Nojiri Line After crossing the Seki River on June 24, JSDF forces immediately ran into the next line of Shogunate resistance, which ran along the eastward stretch of the Torigawa River, east to a series of low hills north of Lake Nojiri, to the summit of Mt. Madarao. These positions were, like those one the Seki River line, hidden in the dense forests and covered by artillery further to the south. While air attacks and counterbattery fire was able to partially suppress the Shogunate batteries, JSDF forces found them forced to engage in heavy fighting in the woods along the low ridgelines and along the slopes of Mt. Kurohime to the west and Madarao-yama to the east. In the valley, tanks and Type 31 Armored Combat Suits were able to provide fire support, knocking out Shogunate heavy weapons positions, however, on the mountain slopes proved more difficult, as fire support was limited to artillery and air support, and enemy targets were more difficult to locate. By the end of the day on the 24th, JSDF forces had taken the ridges north of Lake Nojiri after hours of heavy fighting, and were forced to repulse a Shogunate counterattack that night. The next day, JSDF forces pushed into the town of Shinano and the surroundings of Lake Nojiri, taking the pre-war Kurohime rail station and the surrounding pre-war structures. The Shogunate troops holding the high ground at the remains of a pre-war ski resort near Mt. Madarao held out until the 26th of June, with some holdouts on Mt. Madarao and Kurohime not surrendering until June 28th. Also on the 26th, JSDF forces pushed through the Shinano town completely, taking the pre-war Furuma train station and pushing southwest across the relatively flat valley floor as far as a line of low hills south of Honami, and also gaining a foothold on the slopes of Mount Iizuna. Iizuna Line After the capture of the town of Shinano, the next Shogunate defensive line in the path of the JSDF forces was located on a series of low hills and ridges running east from the slopes of Mount Iizuna. For three days starting on June 26th, JSDF artillery and air forces targeted Shogunate defensive positions, as well as what artillery the Shogunate still had on Mount Iizuna and in the Chikuma River Valley near Nagano to the south. On June 29th, 2260, JSDF mechanized and infantry forces launched attacks at two primary targets, with most of the armor and mechanized forces targeting a gap in the ridges through which two pre-war roads ran, and mountain infantry supported by a VTOL aircraft and a few tanks acting effectively as mobile artillery launched an attack up the slopes of Mount Iizuna. As with the previous lines, the Shogunate defenders fought ferociously, but were unable to withstand the superior numbers of JSDF forces. After a full day of fighting, JSDF forces claimed the top of the ridges at 1900 hours on the 29th, while their comrades fighting on the slopes of Mount Iizuna managed to clear most of the lower eastern slopes of the mountain. Having taken the high grounds above the town of Iizuna, JSDF tanks and mortars were able to fire down on the town from the ridge, allowing them to clear out Shogunate strong points and what few surviving vehicles they had in the area. Nonetheless, Shogunate troops in the Iizuna proved difficult to dislodge, stubbornly holding the ruins of the town, the control of which was only wrested from the Shogunate after a second day of close-quarters fighting in which both sides suffered heavy casualties. Lower Chikuma Offensive Nakano and the Chikuma Suzaka and North Nagano Capturing Central Nagano Securing the Flank Crossing the Sai River Category:Battles